Eisenkot, who led the military’s delegation of “Witnesses in Uniform,” comprising some 20 officers and three Holocaust survivors, underlined the significance of the occasion during his address to the group upon landing in Warsaw.

“I, the head of the IDF General Staff and head of the IDF delegation to Poland in the 70th year of the State of Israel, say, ‘Never again!’” he said. Also addressing the delegation prior to the march, Alsheich spoke of the responsibilities that come with serving the country.

“Police officers ensure the moral existence of Israeli society, which is no less important than protecting the country’s borders, and sometimes even more important,” he said. “We are the opposite of the Nazi-uniformed men who committed and enabled this terrible crime in the history of mankind.”

Rivlin was accompanied on the march by Polish President Andrzej Duda, despite tensions between the two countries over Polish legislation that imposes fines or up to three years in jail on anyone who ascribes “responsibility or co-responsibility to the Polish nation or state for crimes committed by the German Third Reich.”

Rivlin told Duda Thursday that while Poles helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust, they also took part in their extermination. “There is no doubt that many Poles fought the Nazi regime, but we can’t deny the fact that Poland and Poles helped in the extermination,” Rivlin said during a joint press conference with Duda in Krakow.

“The country of Poland allowed the implementation of the horrific genocidal ideology of Hitler, and witnessed the wave of antisemitism sparked by the law you passed now,” the president added.

The president noted that Israel honours those Poles who gave their own lives to save Jews, but pointed out the widespread antisemitism that existed in Holocaust-era Poland and that many Poles also participated in the extermination.

“People murdered and then inherited [the property of the dead]. Here there was a foundation” of antisemitic feeling “that allowed the Nazis to do as they wished, not only in Poland but throughout Europe,” Rivlin said.

Also participating in Thursday’s march were a group of ambassadors to the United Nations, whose attendance was organised by the American Zionist Movement and Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
During World War II, the Nazis killed some 1.1 million people at the Auschwitz-Birkenau

camp, mostly Jews, but also Russians, Roma, Poles and members of other nationalities.
The March of the Living began in 1988 as a biennial event, but was soon staged yearly. More than 260,000 people from 52 countries have participated in the commemoration.

Subscribe to EJC Newsletter

Insert your email address*

European Jewish Congress will use the information you provide on this form to contact you. We will treat your information with respect and will not share it with others. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.*

As the sole political organizational representative of European Jewry, the EJC protects the interests of its affiliated communities, working daily with European Union institutions and officials, the Council of Europe (where the EJC has participatory status) and national governments and parliaments.
Our Privacy Policy